Everyday Wedding advice

TTD is a new and rising trend of wedding photography. For those of you who are not yet familiar with the acronym, TTD stands for Trash the Dress. The idea behind it is not trashing your dress, but to create beautiful and unique images of you and your spouse on your wedding attire enjoying a once-in-a-life-time experience; getting soaked by ocean waves, rolling on a puddle of mud or playing around a lake.

TTD photos have become all the rage with brides who want stunning pieces of art that they can proudly display in their home or something unique for their wedding albums.

TTD sessions are a cross between engagements and bridals. They are usually done the week after the wedding and some times up to a year after. These sessions can be done with the bride and groom or just the bride. As you can imagine beaches and lakes are some of the most popular destinations for TTD photo shoots. I now the idea sounds a bit extreme to some brides, but for those of us who have experienced a TTD session, in front or behind the camera, all I can say it’s absolutely worth your time. It is so much fun and the images are just gorgeous. So, rather than vacuum-packing your dress for the world never to see again; why not trying something fun and new!

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I often tell my clients, “if that’s the worst that happens, then you’re having a great day.” I use this when the dress rubs against the tire of the limo, or when the maid of honor steps on the bride veil.

What happens when the power goes out? This happened last weekend! The couple had an extended cocktail hour from 6-7:30. At around 7:20, the couple was in the ball room making sure everything was OK. The DJ was just finishing setting up and BAM the power went out! If you were in the north east last weekend, you probably remember the rain & wind. As we later found out, most of north Jersey was out of power, but that knowledge did not help this poor bride & groom one bit.

The keyboard player was in the cocktail area finishing up his set, when everyone was informed cocktail hour would be extended due to the power failure. The generators kicked on, so there was some light, but unfortunately, the minimal amount of power silenced the keyboard player. The father of the groom didn’t let it dampen his spirits, however, and entertained the guests with his own music, singing, what I am assuming was, an Italian Aria.

Back in the ball room, the bride & groom were coming to terms with the idea that their reception would be candle lit and music-less. The staff at the Skyland’s Manor came though, however. They quickly set up a larger generator, sent staff out for extra fuel and had the DJ up & running in less than 30 minutes. The guests were invited into the candle-lit room where the staff pulled together a beautiful, delicious dinner from a dark (and I mean dark) kitchen! The DJ didn’t miss a beat and, despite what must have been heart stopping half hour of scrambling to connect to the generator, pulled off a terrific party!

We had a little trouble, since a video camera can’t see in candle light, but along with the photographer, we were able to use minimal light and still capture the entire night in photos and video for the bride & groom. Speaking of the bride & groom, they were amazingly calm through this whole ordeal. Some guests commented that this was a typical event in the life of the groom, but none-the-less, it is not what you expect on your wedding day.

By remaining calm, the entire staff & crew that night was able to pull off an amazing event, and the bride & groom had the wedding of their dreams. This just goes to show you that if that was the worst thing that happens to them in their married life, they are in for a wonderful time together!

Darcie King

Always In Motion Pictures

a division of E Video Productions

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If you and your fiancé haven’t yet chosen a date to wed, then consider the upcoming holidays for your nuptials.  Your “to do” list seems ever-growing with Christmas parties to attend and gifts to purchase, so the Holiday Season may not seem like the ideal time for you to plan your wedding.

On the contrary… you should take advantage of this special time.  The first reason is that more of your family members are likely to attend.  Chances are you were going to spend a few days with them anyway.  People have already asked for time off from work, so the extra day or two isn’t going to hurt them financially.  They were probably already planning on giving you a gift, so maybe it will actually be something you have on your registry or a practical item that you need to start your new life together as husband and wife.

Another great reason is that the decorations are already intact.  What a beautiful time of year - with festive lights; romantic red and green colors; poinsettias; and lovely music.  If you use the decorations that are already in place instead of spending hundreds of extra dollars on lavish “wedding décor”, your wedding budget will be drastically reduced.  Aside from that, your yearly anniversary will bring back charming memories of the holiday season. 

Fancy gowns and cocktail dresses are plentiful at nice department stores for easy choices for the bridesmaids.  Men will already be buying suits to dress for special events.  You won’t have to worry about fittings or finding just the right outfit to wear.

Photographically-speaking, the holidays always provide dramatic images that stand out.  The Christmas lights really pop off the picture.  People’s faces always look happy.  Indeed, the holidays are a magical time of year.  Many will look forward to your wedding as another excuse to deviate from their diets or to meet up with friends they haven’t seen for awhile.

Plenty of reception facilities offer discounts for off-nights.  Saturdays are always the most expensive.  Consider a Friday or Sunday.  Or the week after Christmas when many people already have time off from work and school.  What a perfect excuse to keep the party going for an extra week.  Your wedding day… and it could be coming right up!

If you think it’s just too soon to plan such a big event, just remember some of the most fun you’ve had in your life were the events which were spontaneous. 

Anne Violette is a freelance writer and professional

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     Brides-to-Be are so cute with their binders and checklists.  It’s great to be organized.  The last few years I’ve noticed some funny things that occur in a consultation, so I just want to give you ladies an idea of what should happen in the first visit. 

     First of all, any vendor you are interviewing as a prospective service provider should be equally as prepared.  If they are meeting you, they should not be late.  If you are meeting them, they should have their albums, cake displays or portfolio ready to show.  I like to offer my brides a CD slide show with random samples of wedding and engagement photos.  This lets them see my style and also serves as a token that they can take home to show the mom, bridesmaids or fiancé.  Ask for samples.  Clearly understand the pricing structures of the vendor’s packages so that you both know what will be included in your package.  There’s nothing worse than signing up with someone only to have them nickel and dime you to death when the wedding finally rolls around.  This is especially true with a facility you may be choosing.  Does it include meals?  Tablecloths?  Decorations?  Think of each detail you may need to know.  This is where your checklist will come in handy.

     On the other hand, it is not necessary to go down the list of obvious items.  It’s amazing how often I get asked, “Will you take pictures of us cutting the cake?” or of all the tables, etc.  Of course!  All photographers will be there for all of your pictures.  Asking them to take obvious pictures is something that is included in their job description.  When you go to the dentist it is not necessary to ask them if they will be cleaning your teeth, so it is therefore unnecessary to ask if the photographer will take photos that should be apparent in the job description.  DO tell them about anything unusual that you want.  All of the secrets should be told to the photographer and videographer because these vendors will need to be there to capture those moments.  For example, I had a bride’s family that was hiring a plane to fly by with a congratulatory banner with their names and the wedding date.  In order for me to be in the right place when the fly-by was scheduled to happen, the parents had to clue me in on this little secret.  I was able to capture the couple’s faces as they saw the plane for the first time, as well as have my telephoto lens ready to get great close-ups of the plane.

     Another thing to look for in a consultation is the personalities of the providers.  You may like their work but if you get a bad vibe or they don’t answer your questions with confidence then you may want to keep searching.  You’re spending a lot of money and the most special day of your life with these people so you need to make 100% sure you feel good about the work they will do for you.

     Finally, after you have chosen those vendors whom you feel best about, don’t waste time thinking about it for months.  The spots may be taken by another bride and you will have to start your quest all over again.  Leave a deposit and sign a contract.  Don’t make any verbal agreements.  Make sure everything is written down and signed by both parties.  Then let it go and just relax.  Let the service providers you have chosen do their job.  They know what to do and will help to ensure that your wedding is memorable.  Don’t be a micromanager.  DO become a friend and get to know them.  The better we as service providers know you - the bride - the better we can do to give you exactly what you want.  Happy Planning!

Anne Violette is a freelance writer and professional photographer in Delray Beach, FL.  Find her at:  www.photomaine.com

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A wedding can bring unexpected emotion.  While mingling with guests after a middle-aged couple’s ceremony that I had just officiated, I was startled to find the groom weeping in his mother’s arms.  “Now, now, this is supposed to be a happy occasion,” she said as she comforted him.  Later, the explanation surfaced:  He simply missed his father, who had died more than a dozen years earlier.  No doubt the groom had grieved his loss at the time, but now the empty chair where his father would have sat, had brought it all back up again.

Though nothing can take the place of loved ones who have passed on, there are fitting ways to honor their memories in a wedding ceremony.  Candles can be lit for persons being honored, or their pictures can be displayed in a prominent location such as the guest book table.  A Bible can be placed on an empty chair.  Or the officiant can mention names in a simple statement during the wedding address. 

One of my couples chose to place a memorial table near the wedding arch that stood at the front of the garden where the nuptials had taken place.  On it they included their grandparents’ wedding pictures and other mementos of the family’s history.  After the ceremony many guests visited the table and reminisced, shedding tears and remarking how much the groom resembled his grandfather as a young man. 

Another couple, who had three teenaged daughters between them, also happened to have three deceased parents.  During the ceremony, I invited the girls to come up one at a time and light a candle for each missing grandparent to acknowledge both the generation that came before and the one that was to come after the couple who were being joined in marriage that day. 

When preparing ceremonies, I always ask couples what their wishes are.  Do they want an acknowledgment of living family members?   Then, are there deceased parents or other loved ones they want memorialized?  If they choose to do this, my suggestion is to find a way to keep it simple and straightforward.  There is no need to “milk” the sentiment, since a wedding can be a highly charged emotional event in itself.  Just having the names mentioned during the ceremony is often enough, though everyone is different.  One of my very young grooms had lost his twin brother the year before, and the bride penned a rather elaborate tribute to be read, then wondered if it was too “over the top.”  However, the groom approved.  His twin had been such a huge part of his life, it apparently felt right to honor his memory in a significant way.

By contrast, another young bride emailed me with a heads-up prior to my meeting with them.  The groom’s mother had recently passed, she said, and could I not mention this, even during the consult?  I’m sure her heart was in the right place in attempting to spare her husband-to-be of a painful reminder. Either way, I’m sure his mother was very much on his mind. Overall, I’ve received feedback that including memorials to deceased loved ones at a wedding is meaningful and comforting, and can have a wonderful healing effect.  Though they may no longer be present physically, they truly live on in the minds and hearts of those they have left behind.

Rev. Leah Light

www.weddedyourway.com

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      Have you ever heard the expression, “Don’t sweat the petty things, and don’t pet the sweaty things?”

      No matter how meticulous your wedding plans may be, there is bound to be something that goes wrong. Perhaps it will be some minor detail that no one thought of or a forgotten item left behind in the haste and chaos of the day. Maybe it will be a wilted flower or a late bridal attendant. Who knows what it will be? But something is bound to be amiss no matter how hard you will try to avoid it.

      As a wedding photographer, I have experienced this happening at nearly every wedding. With over 250 events under my belt, I’ve witnessed almost every scenario imaginable. And just when I think I’ve seen it all… I see something new.

      Last weekend’s bride had everything to perfection until the moment she put on her gown. The trouble began with a huge petticoat to be worn underneath the gown. She tried to put the dress on first by crawling in through the bottom. This doesn’t work. Remember to step into the gown and secure the petticoat after the gown is on. Otherwise the newly-coifed hair will be a disaster. Secondly, the bride had lost so much weight prior to the wedding that her dress was extremely loose in the bust. Your last fitting should be one week prior to the wedding. Any later can mean the difference between your dress fitting or not fitting. A lot of brides lose weight right before the big day either from stress or by obsessive workouts to look slim for the pictures. Either way, it is not cool to have a huge gap in the top of your gown. Fortunately we had “stick ‘ems” and I was able to tug, pin and stick the dress into firm shape. This took extra time and calming words, as my bride was on the verge of tears and a fastidious meltdown.

      Several brides in the past have had comparable dress catastrophes. The wedding gown is the number one “thing that might go wrong” experience - so be prepared and get that second or third fitting if need be.

      Another girl broke out in a red rash whenever she was nervous. She had a very fair complexion and the rash was all over her neck, chest and arms. With only half an hour before she was to walk down the aisle, we had to think fast. Certainly she did not want a red rash in all of her pictures. Benadryl Allergy Relief to the rescue! With an approximate working time of 20 minutes, the skin tone was back to normal by the time we reached the lobby of the church.

      Since I have photographed so many weddings and am usually in the bridal suite while the girls are getting ready, I have learned to have a knack for calming down brides who are in hysterics by simply bringing some of the items I am about to recommend.

      Here are some common and strange things you should pack in your bridal emergency kit: Needle and thread; safety pins; allergy medicine (such as Benadryl); extra bra padding or “stick-ems” to hold ‘em up freely; bobby pins; tissues; toothpaste; deodorant; blemish cover-up; tweezers; flip-flops; scissors; duct tape; an emery board; nail clippers; band-aids; burn relief spray or cream; razors; a brown eye pencil; and last but not least, a good luck charm. I could offer a related story for each of these items but will instead ask you to just TRUST me.

      Know your body and what stresses you out. Avoid it. The best piece of advice is no matter what the obstacle may be… remain calm. Don’t let anything ruin your day. Laugh it off! It will be funny when you look back on it after it’s all said and done. Although you can’t predict the future, you can try to plan for the unexpected disruptions.

Anne Violette is a freelance writer and professional photographer in Delray Beach, FL.  Find her at:  www.photomaine.com

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I’ve heard a lot of talk lately about companies “diversifying.” The three common areas that are starting to blur into one are DJs, photographers and videographers. Many of these companies feel the need to offer each other’s services in order to “survive.”

When we get a phone call from someone asking if we do photos and video, I usually take the time to explain to them that we specialize in videography. Photography is a very different creature. Many brides want to combine the services because they feel they get a discount. However, by offering both, you are compromising not just one, but both as well.

While there are many larger companies that offer DJs, bands, photographers and videographers, they are not the focus of this article as they most often act as an agent, booking your event and then finding freelancers and/or in-house professionals to work at your event. They typically hire people that have experience in each given field.

I am more concerned with seasoned photographers, videographers and DJs. They are very good at what they do - artistic photos, movie-like videos or seamless music at your reception. However, with the market inundated with both quality and low-cost vendors, they feel the need to add additional services to attract new brides. There are three ways that they may go about this.

1. They try to do 2 or 3 of these things themselves. A DJ may pick up his digital camera and start shooting pics (or assign that job to his high school-aged assistant). A photographer may set up a video camera on a tripod to capture your event. A videographer may bring an iPod and connect it to some speakers to provide music. None of these situations are ideal - you may hire one great professional - but the second job they are trying to do will not be very good and will cause them to sacrifice some quality from the one job they are usually great at.

2. They may hire a professional freelancer. This is much better than the first situation, since you know you will have someone to focus on each area. However, you loose the personalization this way. You may not get to talk to your photographer if you hire them through your DJ. Then you are trusting that the DJ actually gets your desires across to your photographer before the day of the wedding. A photographer that brings a freelance videographer to the wedding may not allow for that videographer to get the unique shots that make your wedding video perfect. While you have professionals doing each job, you will not have as much interaction prior to the event with the freelancer, and things that are important to you may be missed.

3. Sometimes two or more companies may work together to provide all 3 services for you. For example, a photographer and a videographer - both well respected companies - may work together to provide you with one package. While this situation isn’t ideal, it is the best of the three mentioned here. Typically, you will deal with each vendor separately, but you may be restricted by what is in that special photo/video package.

Ideally, you will chose all vendors based on their own merits and your own desires for each. When looking for a DJ, you want someone that knows how to get your guests up dancing - not focusing on getting photos or video. When looking for a photographer, you want someone that you know you can get along with and that will get great posed & candid shots throughout the night - not someone trying to run a still camera and a video camera at the same time. When looking for a videographer, you want someone that can get technically beautiful shots as well as creatively edit your piece - not someone trying to run photo session or pull candids from high-def footage. Videography and photography are different. DJing is definitely different. Make sure you have professionals run each area of your wedding day. They know the ins and outs of their respective fields and will be the most qualified to make sure your wedding day is perfect!

Darcie King

E Video Productions

www.evideoproductions.net

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TTD is a new and rising trend of wedding photography. For those of you who are not yet familiar with the acronym, TTD stands for Trash the Dress. The idea behind it is not trashing your dress, but to create beautiful and unique images of you and your spouse on your wedding attire enjoying a once-in-a-life-time experience; getting soaked by ocean waves, rolling on a puddle of mud or playing around a lake.

TTD photos have become all the rage with brides who want stunning pieces of art that they can proudly display in their home or something unique for their wedding albums.

TTD sessions are a cross between engagements and bridals. They are usually done the week after the wedding and some times up to a year after. These sessions can be done with the bride and groom or just the bride. As you can imagine beaches and lakes are some of the most popular destinations for TTD photo shoots. I now the idea sounds a bit extreme to some brides, but for those of us who have experienced a TTD session, in front or behind the camera, all I can say it’s absolutely worth your time. It is so much fun and the images are just gorgeous. So, rather than vacuum-packing your dress for the world never to see again; why not trying something fun and new! Write us and let us know what is your take on this new trend, would you do it? need advise? Let us know we will be more than happy to share our expertise!

To view our most recent TTD sessions visit our blog:

http://mmdigitalphotography.blogspot.com/

Ena

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